The race
by virginangelic
Summary: The four gods are disappearing fast, their life force being siphoned away by Tenkou, Lord of the Netherworld. Chichiri is tasked with finding all the seishis and mikos. Together, they must awake their powers and stop him before it's too late.
1. The beginning of the end

The race is a reincarnation fic-

You're a failure rewritten with better concept...I hope. Enjoy. Usual disclaimer applies. Character might be a bit OOC.

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**The Race**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End**

I could see him struggling, perspiring profusely. His breathing was short and labored, as though the very act of life itself was a heavy task. I couldn't stand the sight. I wanted to remember him, as he once was, the Tasuki I knew, the strong, energetic bandit from the hills who never backed out of a challenge, the brave fanged warrior who was gentle and caring towards to closest to him.

Not like the way he was now, a shadow of his former self. He was weak and pale; the sparkle in his eyes gone, replaced by a sad dullness. In him, I saw nothing that even resembled my dearest friend. The last of my Suzaku brothers was dying. I was trembling inside, afraid of the pain that I knew would come; the terrible heartache and the guilt. I didn't want to relive those terrible emotions I once felt when I lost my sweet bride and Hikou. I heard a soft mumble, forcing me to return back to reality. Ravens had started to circle the skies above us.

I had to think of a possible solution. The sound of the river reminded me of a certain spring where my life was renewed. It was where my wounds were healed, just by washing them with the water. Than it struck me. _If it could work for me…_

I quickly rushed up to the heavens and sought Taiitsukun's permission to bring him up. My heart was filled with hope. I never wanted to lose my friends again. And Tasuki was the only friend I had left.

I ran across the vast hallways and corridors, calling out her name. There was no response. Finally she appeared, her face lathered in green cream.

What the hell! Is she trying to be a beautiful beast?

She slowly opened her eyes. When she realized who I was, she grew extremely irritated.

"What do you want? Hurry! I haven't got all time you know…"

"Tasuki is dying no da. I want to bring him to the..."

Before I could complete my sentence, she stopped me. Rolling her eyes upwards before she responded, I kind of figured her response. Yet in my heart, I was desperately hoping and praying I was wrong.

"Quiet! I know he's dying..."

"Please?" I pleaded, trying my best to put up a brave front for the sake of diplomacy. I couldn't cry. Men don't cry in public. Her reply came swiftly and struck my heart.

"No. You cannot."

I was appalled. My friend's life is on the line here!

"What do you mean? His life is..."

"It's his time." She replied, her back facing me as she walked away without even glancing at me.

I stood there, rooted to the ground, unable to think clearly. My thoughts were all muddled up. As I stood there, I wished I could kill her there and then. I finally stormed out of the room, feeling disgusted with her. The **creator**. If she could manipulate time and foresee the future, why couldn't she inform me! Why! Anger from the depths of my soul; unexpressed anger from the past, all accumulated, creating an immense explosion. I was enraged, angry at the world, at life and more so at her.

I couldn't even save my friend. Not even my last brother. My spirits were low as it dawned on me. I was a failure...

"Chi...Chi...Chi..chiri...I'm...so...sorr...sorry...I...I don't..."he mumbled.

His feeble attempts to speak were painful to watch. It was even worse to hear his gruff loud voice reduced to a soft whisper. Seeing him, I could do nothing but weep. It was all **her** fault! I was unprepared to watch him collapse to the ground hard. It jolted me from my grief and I rushed to lend him the needed support. He reached out his hand, and caressed my cheek. His affectionate gesture was the last straw. I had been trying, desperately trying to hold back the stinging tears but now they fell like a steady stream of river.

The river...Hikou.

For a brief moment in time, I thought I saw him in Tasuki. I blinked in disbelief. My heart felt heavier and I the tears started to fall more heavily, down my cheeks.

Tasuki tried to wipe away my tears with that hand of his. Indirectly telling me to stop. He looked into my eyes and I saw them gleaming in happiness. "They...They're...here..."

For once I was glad. Our brothers were among us, bringing a sense of comfort to me. He collapsed quietly in my lap as he breathed his last. He left me with a peaceful and satisfied look on his face. I didn't realise until it was too late.

I didn't even managed to say goodbye...

* * *

It's been 5 years since that incident. I was the last seishi left if the conflicting reports that Subaru and her husband were dead wer true. Those stupid messenger boys can never be trusted. All they can think of is money... 

_"Greedy money grubbers..."_

There was a knock on the door.

"Who could it be at this godforsaken hour!" I mumbled.

"Coming!" I cried, with a hint of irritation.

The bloody idiot kept knocking and knocking. The incessant knockings became extremely irritating that I was tempted to swear at the bugger.

I opened the door to find a girl of maybe 10.

"What you want you little brat!"

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I'll try to update it. The fic 'I'm a failure will be taken down AFTER I've done the 2nd chapter. And yes, its the same story...Review this please coz I need them to supplement my diet. 


	2. Nyannyan!

Author's note: Gomen for the long wait! I had a mind block and was busy. Okay, I admit, I was lazy. So here you are, Chapter 3. Hope you like it. Review this or mail me to tell me how I should improve further or continue the story! Arigatou!

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**Chapter 2: Nyan-nyan**

I opened the door to find a girl of maybe ten.

"What you want you little brat!"

"Chichiri-sama, don't you remember me?" the little girl said.

I hadn't told anyone my seishi name. Here, in the village I was _always_ the poor man on the hill, or the mad man as the kids call me. No one had bothered to ask my name. They just used the circumstances I was in to give me a name. Chichiri, _the_ Suzaku seishi was forgotten. Now, my brothers and I were _just_ legends. Nothing more.

But this girl...How did _she_ know? As I stared into her face, I saw a glimpse of an annoying girl I remember fondly as the cute Nyan-nyan. The little toddler had grown...

I just kept silent, knowing it was that old hag who sent her. She was the Creator, my mentor, my savior and also the source of my hate and anguish. There was _always_ two sides to a person, or in this case a goddess...

"Taiitsukun needs your help..." Nyan-nyan said.

A part of me was glad and was applauding. Yet there was another part of me, the old Chichiri, the Suzaku Seishi, which was pitying her and urging me to help.

I guess that sense of righteousness in me hadn't died. I grabbed my staff, my hat, and my robes. Nyan-nyan looked at me patiently.

"Done no da. Now let's go."

"Okay." She said, still perched precariously on a half-balanced stool.

As I approached the door, I realised that little twerp wasn't following me. She was still on the stool.

"Hurry no da!"

"Okay...I thought we were going to be teleported?" Nyan-nyan said, "Because I remember it took 4 weeks to even get to the desert."

_I am so stupid.__

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_

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I could hear a terrible cry. Nyan- nyan had quickly disappeared, leaving me alone to wander around the garden. As I got closer to the palace steps, the cries grew louder and louder.

The horrible sound of anguish was unbearable. It was extremely painful and it made me feel like my heart was being wrenched. I wept, sympathising with the person and with myself. The cry was exactly how I felt deep within the recesses of my soul; as though a part of me had died. As I stepped up into the hall of the 28 columns, I soon found out the source of the incessant crying. It was Taiitsukun. I was startled at first but somehow, I felt that she deserved the pain she was going through.

"That will teach her a lesson..."I thought, as I slowly approached the weeping old lady.

As she turned her head towards me, I saw the glistening tears in her red eyes. She was indeed a pitiful sight. Seeing her cry broke my heart and I realised that I shouldn't have bore a grudge against her.

"Taiitsukun, why are you..." before I could finish the sentence, Taiitsukun stood up and wiped away her tears with her sleeves.

"I'm so sorry that you saw me in this state...Chichiri. You see, all the four gods...they...they're..." before bursting back into tears and then tried to regain her composure.

"All of you will be dead unless the gods get their strength back," she said.

"What no da ! Are the gods are sick? then couldn't you conjure up something no da?"

"No, they…they're dying. And with their demise, this world shall cease to exist."

"You're kidding right no da?"

"No. Their life force is being siphoned away by _**that**_ devil. I wish I can help but…" she sobbed,her head bowed down low.

"But you're the creator!" I cried, expressing my surprise and anger.

"Not anymore. Tenkou..."

Her words trailed off as her voice got softer and softer until it became an inaudible mumble.

"SO? What you expect me to do? Go to Hell?" I screamed at her, surprising her and even myself. I guess my screams brought her back from lala land. She tried to regain her composure before proceeding or repeating herslef, I couldn't be sure which.

"Not _yet_. You'll have to gather all the seishis and mikos first. I doubt that some will willingly follow. They have to be found within 28 weeks, when all the heavenly bodies are aligned.It won't be easy. Here, take this," she said, as she conjured up a crystal ball. It was opaque until I tilted it slightly and I saw the colours of the rainbow.

I then realised that she had said **_all_** the seishis and mikos. I justassumed that they had all been reincarnated. Taiitsukun conjured up the portal and it sucked me in. Before I was completely sucked in, she cried out, "And don't use your powers unless needed!"

"Bham", I fell, onto a red cart, triggering an extremely annoying sound. An enraged man came out of a building cursing, flinging punches in the air at me as he started chasing me. I quickly ran, not wanting to be the centre of attention. I needed to blend in. and what a _fine_ job I was doing.

As I turned into a dark alley, I saw a group of tough-looking people, all wearing black and sporting outrageous hairdo. They had pierced strange balls onto their lips, their noses and other body parts. The girls wore rags. I wanted to laugh at the absurdness of their costumes. It was very outlandish and weird. Yet they exuded an air of danger.

As a passing cart sped past, the light shone was bright enough for me to see a couple of things to make me wish I never had been there. All of them had ink etched deep in their skins and wielded dangerous weapons like the samurai sword. I gulped. Even with my magic, I couldn't defeat them single-handedly. It was like a hundred to one. Not to mention I was too exhausted to wage a battle using magic.

Just then, something in my satchel felt warm. I took out the warm crystal globe. It was glowing as red as the royal throne of Suzaku. The glow was unfortunately bright enough to bath the entire alley in red and also enabled me to see each and every one of the faces of the pierced humans. A kanji letter soon appeared.

"Sei "

Star.

Hotohori. It surprised me. Not one of them looked like Hotohori. I tried scanning the big crowd for a glimpse of him until one of them stepped forward.

"What you staring at!"

His hostility towards me was somewhat disturbing and frightening. I quietly stepped back and ran for my live.

"Let's get that &$$$(#!" a youngster with shortly-cropped hair cried, and the others cheered in unison, raising their weapons as one would raiseone's glass in toast. That voice...it seemed like it was Hotohori's but I didn't want to get into any more trouble. I turned back to see that they were slowing down. As I turned into a corner, I heard them cry out, "Weakling!" and they started laughing. Something in me shattered.

"How could the most well-mannered diplomatic person I've ever known be...be..."I thought. It was hard to even describe what Hotohori now was. As I sat on the curb, I watched the lights in a small restaurant across the street being switched off. I looked up at the sky but couldn't see the stars. Perhaps, it was too bright. I heard a bell ringing 10 times in the distant. I saw a long black cart coming down the street and it stopped beside me.

I saw a well-dressed man stepping out of his car and I decided to ask him for help. He didn't look very fierce, just quite haughty. I decided to try my luck with him. _Surely_ he was friendly than those scary hooligans.

"Excuse me sir, but can you tell me how to contact Miaka Yuuki, no, I mean Miaka Sukunami?"

"Go look at a phone book you baka!" he cried before brushing me aside as he stepped into a building. I walked on dejectedly when I heard a loud beeping sound.

"Yo, Chichiri, wanna ride?"

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Sorry it turned out to be a reincarnation fic but I had to if I wanted to merge this with a previous fic. Guess who it was that offered Chichiri a ride? Sorry, if some of the characters were OOC but I had to have it as it will be weird. 


	3. Starlights

**Reincarnation fic**

Rewritten with better concept…I hope.

Enjoy. Usual disclaimer applies. Sorry for the late respond. I had a bloody long writer's block. Some of the characters might be OOC but please do review and I'll try to accommodate the suggestions. I like reviews, even flames. So read on and don't forget to rnr!

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As I walked on, dejectedly, I heard a loud beeping sound. "Yo, Chichiri, wanna ride?"

I stopped.

_Who could know?_

I wasn't afraid of attackers. Just wary of this strange place my Miko could call home. It was weird if I were to judge solely on my previous and hopefully the last encounter with the youths. However, I knew that was _just_ a beginning.

I turned and saw Seiyruu no miko in a metallic horseless carriage. She had changed a lot since I last met her which was centuries ago. She had grown out her locks of gold and was dressed more decently than the kids I encountered. So was her male companion.

It occurred to me that she might know where Miaka is. Yet worries clouded my mind.

_Was it a trap?_

I decided to throw caution to the wind as I was a stranger in an even stranger land. So long as I still had what little magic I could muster for defense, I knew I would be fine but that didn't mean that I was going to be complacent. I was going to watch and make sure I was safe.

"Erm…why not?" I said, trying to project an air of confidence.

_Now what was her name?_ _It was something go…_

Then I knew how to overcome this problem.

"Seiyruu no miko, how do you do?"

She laughed.

"It's been a long long time since someone called me that…even the palace maids just called me Yui-sama back then. You can just call me Yui, Chichiri-sama."

Her male companion turned to me and extended his hand.

"Tetsuya."

_What was I supposed to do with his hand? Kiss it? Shake it?_

I looked around, desperate to find others in my situation. I spotted a lady holding her hand out, just like Tetsuya and her male companion kissed it. Fear struck in my heart.

_Must I do **that**? Oh well…All for the sake of blending in…_

I shut my eyes. I didn't even want to remember _any_ minute of this…

Tetsuya quickly withdrew his hand upon my lips making contact with it.

"What the! What did you think you were doing!" he cried out loud.

Yui kept laughing as she watched Tetsuya flicked his wrist, as thought it was wet. She looked at me and laughed even harder.

"Great. Just great. I just got kissed on my hand! By a guy!" Tetsuya cried in exasperation.

_Was I wrong?_

All I could do was to get in the carriage. I knew I was blushing hard, I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I was sure I was as red as a beetroot. Yui looked at me and laughed even harder. I knew I had just made a fool out of myself.

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The entire ride was silent, well with the exception of Yui's hysterical laughing. Somehow Tetsuya caught the laughing bug and the ride became a torture. Here I was, sitting at the back, in a horseless carriage with two laughing bumbling fools when I could have just teleported myself. Too bad, I didn't know this place well enough.

We arrived at Miaka's apartment (that was what I heard Yui call it) soon enough. Now there was this box-like contraption that seemed to disappear after someone had gone in. There was _no way_ I was going to be eaten alive. Yui tried to drag me in but failed.

"Come on princess, she only lives on the second floor. Consider it exercise pre-supper." Tetsuya said, his voice taking on a softer tone. It was obvious that the guy had feelings for her. Yui only scowled and grumpily agreed. I just smiled as I watched the odd pair.

"What's the use of technology if we can't use it?" Yui sighed.

Somehow, the two got themselves entangled in a discussion about technology. I wanted to participate in this heatedintellectual exchange but I could barely comprehend the discussion, littered with jargons and past events. Future for me…

A tall man stood outside the door to Miaka's apartment, cradling his baby asleep. The crystal ball had gotten warm and glowed red. I could see the fading red but I didn't need to know who it was. My buddy. It seems fatherhood was fast becoming his forte. I could hardly contain my joy. He did a double take when he saw me.

"Chiciri?"

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Apologies to everyone.


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